Self‐Improvement and Fashion Values and Loneliness: A Two‐Wave Longitudinal Study of the Differential Mediating Roles of Meaning in Life and Self‐Esteem

This two-wave longitudinal study (N = 576 Chinese college students; 72.1% female, 27.9% male; mean age = 19.53 years, SD = 0.74; T1 = freshman year, T2 = junior year, 2-year interval) aimed to explore how self-oriented values-self-improvement (SI) and fashion-affect loneliness through the multiple mediating roles of meaning in life (ML) and self-esteem (SE). Participants completed the Chinese Youth Values Questionnaire, Chinese Meaning in Life Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and UCLA Loneliness Scale at both time points. Mediation analyses using PROCESS Model 6 revealed that SI reduced loneliness via three significant indirect paths: (a) through ML alone, (b) through SE alone and (c) through the sequential chain of ML → SE. In contrast, fashion only exerted an indirect negative effect on loneliness through SE, with no significant mediating role of ML. These findings highlight that SI value has a stronger and more enduring impact on alleviating loneliness through both existential (ML-related) and self-evaluative (SE-related) pathways. The results provide practical implications for developing values-based mental health interventions in Chinese higher education contexts.